According to the Saudi state news agency, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud discussed the recent Gaza ceasefire proposal during a call on Saturday.
Blinken also made separate phone calls to the foreign ministers of Turkey, and Jordan, urging them to encourage Hamas to agree to President Joe Biden’s new Gaza ceasefire proposal.
Blinken emphasized the urgency of Hamas accepting the plan during these calls made from his plane returning from a NATO meeting in Prague, as stated by State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
Earlier, President Biden unveiled a surprise proposal calling for a six-week comprehensive ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from densely populated areas of Gaza.
Biden has urged Hamas to accept a new peace deal proposed by Israel, which includes a permanent ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, release of all hostages, and long-term reconstruction of the area.
A senior administration official stated that the four-and-a-half page proposal had received endorsement from the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu and was presented to Hamas on Friday.